The Law Commission of New Zealand has been requested to investigate the issue of liability applicable to companies that develop and sell genetically modified organisms or products that contain GM materials.
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The Commission has been charged with deciding whether the present law is capable of determining who is liable if anything goes wrong. It may propose a new law, said the Independent Business Weekly.
Some lawyers have advised major players in the GM industry not to wait for the Commission to reach a decision, but to sort out issues up front.
Various parties, notably from the organics sector, favour a system of strict liability, stretching liability back to the developers of GM organisms. During the 14-month investigation into GM carried out by the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification, the fitness of the current liability legislation was questioned, although the Commission did not make a recommendation to change the regime. In fact, it said that strict liability could impede innovation and progress.
